Medical leads are used in a variety of applications. In some uses, medical leads are anchored to a patient's tissue using anchoring devices, including those commonly referred to as “suture sleeves.” For example, in many applications, an electrical lead connected to a cardiac rhythm management (CRM) device is secured to patient tissue at or near a vein entry site to help prevent both acute and chronic lead migration and dislodgement. In particular, leads are anchored, or retained, by securing a suture sleeve about the lead and suturing the suture sleeve to the patient's tissue.